SPINWATCH-Oil-rich Venezuela keeps its citizens in rolling blackouts by Joel Brinkley http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/27/IN6F1C5V0J.DTL

(this authors rebutalls in italics as is evidence contradicting mr brinkley)

Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's flamboyant president, now should be the object of pity. He has boxed himself in, trapped by his own hubris.His country is falling apart. How, for example, did Venezuela find itself plagued with electricity shortages so severe that the government imposed blackouts nationwide for several hours each day? 

(first of all the worldwide economic crisis was created by north as far as venezuela is concerned ...the economy is not in shambles and  its actually better prepared to deal with the effects of wall street geenrated crisis,as are most  latin american countries part of unasur and alba with few exceptions(neoliberal favoring nations)see venezuelas economic indicators...Report Examines Economy and Social Indicators During the Chávez Decade in Venezuela http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02.pdf  )

It happens that a hydroelectric dam on the Caroní River generates almost three-quarters of the nation's electricity. But a drought has dropped the river's water level below what the hydroelectric generator needs to function at full power, setting off the blackouts and a water shortage. That prompted the Bolivarian president to issue an important decree. Venezuelans, he ordered, were no longer permitted to sing in the shower.

(first of all yes this is the case and confirmed by Brasilian government and energy technicians and engineers who went to venezuela to study the problem and teach them the technological expertise in dealing with these incidents(Brazil itself has better experience dealing with similar problems with its hydroelectric dam in Para state)see...Brazil helps Venezuela in power generation http://www.americaeconomia.com.br/note.aspx?Note=389975

The Brazilians will pass on the knowledge gained through experience that occurred in Pará, in its own Plant Complex. In the past, the plant was subject to difficulties similar to those occurring in Venezuela, so the technicians at  Eletrobrás have experience to deal with failure)now as far as the claim he ordered venezuelans were no longer to sing in showers,its an outrigth lie,even media in brasil acknowledges this is how it occurred(At the end of last year, Chavez even went on television and urged Venezuelans avoid long baths, so as not to use bathtubs. Humorous, he also said the ideal was not to sing in the shower, because it would extend the time of use of water)

The government called the electricity crisis an "act of Mother Nature." I call it an act of incompetence. This wasn't an earthquake, a hurricane or some other calamity that fell upon Venezuela with little notice. The water level had been dropping gradually for many months. Chavez and everyone else could see this crisis coming but did nothing effective to prepare.

(first of all as you can see above brazil has similar problems,as does colombia and other nations in region...see..Ecuador Government Declares Electricity Emergency Due to Blackouts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Ecuador_electricity_crisis Colombia's vice minister for water and sanitation, Leyal Rojas, revealed that drinking-water restrictions have already begun in 50 municipalities across the country http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7316-authorities-begin-water-rationing-ahead-of-predicted-drought.html  

El Niño intensifies Latin American drought -http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/6613929/El-Nino-intensifies-Latin-American-drought.html )as far as claim he did nothing see...Venezuela is purchasing 880MW of GE of hydro-turbines http://www.windpowermonthly.com/news/985673/Venezuela-purchase-GE-turbines-halt-energy-drought/   In addition, there are reports Venezuela is co-operating with Argentina over plans to develop a joint wind power project http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/pearson100210.html )of course mr brinkley leaves this important information all out of his critique...

Any other leader would have negotiated deals to buy electric generators - or purchased power from friendly neighbors. Oh, I forgot. Chavez doesn't have any friendly neighbors.

(that what he's done see above,and as far as not having any friends in region...i suggest standford university fire mr brinkely, this fraudulent so called professor of journalism,for one because if he doesnt know who created ALBA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Alliance_for_the_Americas and the alliance of nations who joined and their projects of mutual cooperation including new currency  SUCRE used by all member nations already in effect,he isnt fit to teach journalism,because he isnt even properly informed concerning region,therefore he isnt fit to teach any journalism anywhere.

also see...Union of South American Nations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations  Chavez, Allies Launch Bank of the South http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071209/argentina-bank-of-south/  Brazilian president defends Chavez and criticizes US http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brazilian_president_defends_Chavez_and_criticizes_US  Argentina's Kirchner Backs Chavez http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022101700.html  Chavez, Morales, Correa Bypass U.S. in Deals With Iran, China http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=7034

That helps explain why the nation's economy, like its electric grid, is on the verge of collapse.

(country is not on verge of collapse,the DEVELOPED nations economies are ...as far as venezuelas economy is concerned see...Report Examines Economy and Social Indicators During the Chávez Decade in Venezuela http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02.pdf  )

Inflation runs at 25 percent, the highest in Latin America, and the nation remains mired in a stubborn recession. Last month Chavez devalued the nation's currency, the bolivar, from 2.15 to the dollar up to 4.30. Suddenly his citizens' money was worth half of what it was the day before.

(first of all the devaluation was a revaluation and even the opposition had called for it years ago as far back as 2005-2007...now the move will boost domestic production while reducing imports,clearly a move that was long overdue...the move will also boost revenue from oil profits,wich will fund the diversification of non oil sectors domestically and boost social program spending...lets look a bit deeper...Devaluation To Bring Benefits And Challenges http://www.allbusiness.com/economy-economic-indicators/money-currencies-interest/13710443-1.html

it will now get twice the amount of bolivars for each dollar collected. State oil firm PdVSA , which wobbled severely in 2009, will be a key beneficiary too. Indeed, the cost-side of its balance sheet is largely in bolivars but revenues in dollars, the devaluation will bring a serious improvement to its bottom line, in turn lifting the government's take. To be sure, the one-off surge in state revenues will enable Chávez to extend the numerous social programmes on which his political support crucially depends.

(yes venezuela has high inflation but its been highly effective in maintaining price controls limits on currency ,and combating speculation while subsidizing essential products like produce and other necessities at low price thru publicly owned supermarket chains...also bear in mind unemployment is only at 7 % !!!keep in mind also that new sucre currency now in effect between the region has also abandoned dollar as a means of  debt ,trade, and commerce transactions between ALBA nations...an excellent idea sure to put a dent in the already over valued dollar wich is being dumped by many nations and is on verge of collapse...

whats interesting is how mr brinkley attacks Chavez economic policies irrationally when if properly analized  over a 10 year period and compared against the state the economy was under before he took office ,its acomplishments (free education,free healthcare,subsidized food,subsidized housing,extreme poverty reduction by 72%,overall poverty reduction by HALF!!!unemployment at lowest in continent 7%!!!)are nothing short of the most progressive policies the world has seen in last 500 years!!!

now why isnt mr brinkley commenting on us economy in shambles?why isnt mr brinkley just as critical of the us generated global ponzy scheme thats responsible for this world wide economic crisis?wheres brinkley on these matters,see...Max Keiser: Dollar to be buried way before 2018 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7dH4e8HYFA

Financial bankruptcy, the US dollar and the real economy http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2341.shtml   Max Keiser US Dollar is Finished http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tty9-owMWo  Max Keiser - Economic Apocalypse Is Upon Us http://www.youtube.com/?v=hQazSediuYs   World Dumps Dollar- Americans Holding the Bag http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ZhptBCi3k

China and Brazil: Dump the Dollar - BusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/05/it_is_just_the.html  Abandoned U.S. Dollar and Paradigm Shift http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article12253.html   Mercosur Dumps U.S. Economic Lunacy http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3331mercosur_v_us.html

here is some other contraversial issues concerning mr brinkley...9/11 conspiracy theorist should leave U.N. job By Joel Brinkley http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-12-14/opinion/17131948_1_islamic-conference-homeland-security-attacks 

vs Joel Brinkley's Article on Richard Falk:Does It Demonstrate the Right "Frame of Mind" to Teach Journalism at Stanford? http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20090103031910871    We can thus see that Brinkley's call for Falk's resignation or dismissal rests solely upon Falk's belief that the events of September 11 "warrant further investigation." It is, in other words, Falk's open-mindedness about this issue that makes him unqualified to write about human rights abuses in the Palestinian Territories. How can Brinkley justify such a claim?

and finally see...TIME TO STOP BLAMING ISRAEL FOR GAZA’S PLIGHT….JOEL BRINKLEY http://www.ruthfullyyours.com/2010/02/01/time-to-stop-blaming-israel-for-gazas-plight-joel-brinkley-see-note/

Now, a year after the Israeli invasion of Gaza, it’s time to stop blaming Israel for the desperate plight of Gaza’s people. Now, without question, it’s Hamas’ fault...

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Brazilian president pledges a million homes for the poor http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/world/brazilian-president-pledges-a-million-homes-for-the-poor-447933.html

Brazil’s president said he plans to provide funding for the construction of an additional one million homes that will be owned by the poor in Latin America’s largest nation.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s programme that helps the poor buy apartments initially envisioned construction of one million homes.But Mr da Silva told business executives in El Salvador that he will expand it to eventually build twice that many.The popular programme – known as My Life, My Home – funnels loans from state banks to poor Brazilians who probably would never be able to own homes without the help.The campaign was announced amid the global financial crisis and has also helped Brazil’s important construction sector

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Honduras - "Neither Forgive nor Forget" Shouts the Resistance (Honduras Culture and Politics)http://hondurasculturepolitics.blogspot.com/2010/02/neither-forgive-nor-forget-shouts.html

Yesterday, the Frente de Resistencia in Honduras carried out a massive protest march in Tegucigalpa. Coverage by Honduras' Tiempo, which provided the headline quoted above, reported estimates of 20,000 participants who marched to demand constitutional reform and accountability for human rights violations that followed the coup d'etat of June 28, 2009.

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VIDEO-MUST WATCH-Honduras: We Refuse To Go Back (GRITtv) http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2010/02/24/honduras-we-refuse-to-go-back/

The coup in Honduras has all but been forgotten these days, but the people's struggle there goes on. Jose Alcoff was there recently, and contributed this report recapping the turmoil, and checking in with the social movements there about what's happening next.

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Morales in Mexico http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2010/02/morales-in-mexico.html

He then moved on to talk about the Left’s bête noire – the rich. He told the cheering crowd that “basic services are public services and must not be privatized.” The crowd responded by chanting “Calderón out!” recalling their own president’s recent decision to dismiss over 40,000 employees of the state electricity company for the purposes of privatization. Morales’ attack on the upper class continued as he told the crowd that, “There are more of us than these modern millionaires. They have all the wealth but are small in number, whereas we are poor but are the majority.”

He told the crowd that these gold-diggers were only interested in exploiting natural resources for their personal financial gain. The crowd listened as Morales spoke of the importance of getting middle-class citizens and intellectuals on side, to fight the oligarchs. Morales spoke of how he had no fear when he nationalized Bolivia’s resources, and he applauded the armed forces for their support during this time. Despite the fear-mongering of many international economists, the president’s policy was vindicated when Bolivia had it first fiscal surplus since 1940.

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White Lie by Uri Avnery http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/71915

"When Herzl originated the Zionist idea, he did not intend to found the “State of the Jews” in Palestine, but in Argentina. Even when writing his book, he devoted to the country only a few lines, under the headline “Palestine or Argentina?” However, the movement he created compelled him to divert his endeavors to the Land of Israel, and so the state came into being here.''This coming Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Israel will consider an application by a group of Israeli citizens to compel the Interior Ministry to register them as belonging to the “Israeli nation”. Odd? Indeed.

The Israeli Interior Ministry recognizes 126 nations, but not the Israeli nation. An Israeli citizen can be registered as belonging to the Assyrian, the Tatar or the Circassian nation. But the Israeli nation? Sorry, no such thing. According to the official doctrine, the State of Israel cannot recognize an “Israeli” nation because it is the state of the “Jewish” nation. In other words, it belongs to the Jews of Brooklyn, Budapest and Buenos Aires, even though these consider themselves as belonging to the American, Hungarian or Argentine nations. Messy? Indeed.  

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White House: U.S. ready to help Chile 'in this hour of need' http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35617582/ns/politics/

Mattson said the U.S. had reached out to the Chilean government. In cases of natural disasters, the affected country usually accepts an offer of help made by the State Department, which then could ask the Defense Department to help with any relief mission.

comment-notice part  where its offers help wich if granted it would be coordinated thru defense department ...as a future launching pad for a continual agressive campaign to destabilize region against progressive governments...(i dont post any msm garbage,just thougth this merited attention)

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Iran scientists obtain electricity from microbes www.islamidavet.com/english/2010/02/22/iran-scientists-obtain-electricity-from-microbes